Questão 66947

In a graduate seminar on linguistic theories, a professor challenges the student-teachers to analyze a subtle grammatical phenomenon using two competing theoretical frameworks: Construction Grammar (CxG) and Principles and Parameters (P&P) Theory. The phenomenon is the 'way' construction in English, as in 'Frank sneezed his way out of the classroom' or 'She hacked her way into the mainframe'. This construction is idiomatic and highly productive, but its grammar is peculiar. The professor explains the theoretical divide: 'P&P, a generative framework, would likely treat this construction as an anomaly or a lexical quirk, as it is difficult to derive from general syntactic rules like Theta Theory. The verb 'sneeze', for instance, is intransitive, so how can it take a direct object like 'his way'? For P&P, syntax is primary and autonomous. In contrast, Construction Grammar argues that the construction itself [[SUBJ] [V-self] [PRON-way] [OBLIQUE]] is a stored, symbolic unit of language, a 'construction' that carries its own meaning: 'to move along a path with difficulty or effort, while performing the action of the verb'. The verb 'sneeze' is coerced into this meaning by the construction itself. For CxG, the construction, not the verb, is the primary locus of meaning.'

Given this theoretical backdrop, which pedagogical approach to teaching the 'way' construction would be most informed by Construction Grammar?